iWorship
Part 4: When iWorship
Key Scripture: John 12:1-22
Key Thought: God isn’t looking for more workers, He’s looking for more worshippers.
Icebreaker: Video: The Gift of Worship
Intro: Let’s talk about worship this morning. Let’s talk about the fact that worship Is more than just singing. It’s more than just praise choruses and hymns. It’s more than clapping and singing and powerpoint presentations. It’s more than that. Worship is way of life. Today, as we wrap up our iWorship series, I want to stress to you one more time the fact that worship is not simply an action. It’s a way of life.
-Too often, we treat worship of God like we would a concert or a Broadway show. We think that worship is something we do when we come a sit down in a room and good music is playing and the performers on stage do a good job. And then maybe, when the curtain falls, if “the show” were to our liking, then it’s been a good time of worship. Listen, if that’s how you generally think of worship, you’re missing out.
-Because worship isn’t like a concert or a play. True worship is in the day to day. Because worship is a way of life. Worship happens when an elderly father prays for his son who has wondered away from God. Worship happens when a student forgives her friend who stabbed her in the back. Worship happens when a mother tenderly rocks her infant to sleep singing, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…there’s just something about that name,” because she wants to raise the child to know Jesus Christ as his best friend. That’s worship. Worship happens when we abide in God’s presence, no matter where we are.
-There’s a great passage of the Bible in the book of John that really quickly in order describes 3 different kinds of people and the 3 different ways they worshipped Jesus that day. All 3 were very different. But all 3 acts of worshipped pleased Jesus…and changed the people who worshipped. Let’s hear the story this morning:
Scripture: John 12:1-22
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5"Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]" 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." 9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt."
16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" 20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”
What Mary Teaches Us About Worship (Verses 1-8)
-Let’s see what Mary teaches us about worship.
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
1. True worship is risky.
-Whoa, risky? Yes. The reason it’s risky is because true worship is to become vulnerable. To worship God is to give up control. We begin to be vulnerable to God, just as Mary was being vulnerable in opening up the bottle of expensive perfume. Mary was risking because all eyebrows were raised when she opened up that bottle and gave it to the Lord. Everybody in the place said, “Wow, this is absolutely incredible.” There was almost a foolishness involved in the process of worship. But that’s what worship does for us. The reason is worship lifts us up to level of God, where we want to express love in such a tangible way that at times, we may feel vulnerable, or we may fell foolish, or we may seem to say, “Well, this is kind of out of character.”
-She even risked her image by her acts of worship. People were going to question her because of what she had done to worship Jesus. And the disciples tried to veto her. But Mary didn’t care. She was willing to risk it so that she could show Jesus how much she loved Him.
2. True worship is extravagant.
-Do you know what Mary didn’t do? She didn’t hold anything back. She did not become conservative in her worship. In fact, this perfume that she opened up and poured out on Jesus was worth literally a year’s salary. So when she opened this bottle and gave it all to Jesus, you know the disciples and the rest of the Christian there said, Whoa, wait a minute. That’s a whole year’s worth of money that she just dumped out! How dare she!” But a lifestyle of worship makes us want to become extravagant in our love for Jesus and how we show it.
3. True worship happens when we give of ourselves.
-I think sometimes we think worship is kind of mushy. I think we think worship is all emotional and we have to work ourselves up into some kind of emotional frenzy to worship. Sometimes we think that worship is a feeling we get when we’re “being spiritual.” But that’s not true at all. Worship is stewardship. Worship is commitment. Worship is surrender. Worship is giving up your rights. Worship is Lordship. Worship is putting god in control of your life. Worship is allowing yourself to be verbal. When you really begin to look at what worship produces, there’s really nothing sentimental about it. Emotion plays only a small role. There’s nothing frivolous and fluffy about worship giving of ourselves to God.
-Do you remember the passage of Scripture where the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus into committing treason against Caesar? They brought a coin to Him and asked Him what people who follow God should do about paying taxes. And what did Jesus say? “Render to Caesar what is Caesar and render to God what is God’s.” You know, we pass that scripture way too quickly. It sys that after Jesus said that, they didn’t ask Him any more questions. You know why? Because the truth of what He has saying hit so close to their hearts. The part about rendering to Caesar was easy enough. He asked them whose image was on the coin and Jesus basically said, “Caesar’s image is on your money, so it belongs to Him.” But then when He looked at them and said, “But render unto God what is God’s,” do you realize what He was saying? Jesus was saying, “You’re made in God’s image, so give Him what’s His.” What’s His? You are. And they didn’t ask Him anymore questions because they learned that worship is about giving our your rights…because you belong to God.
What the Crowds Teach Us About Worship (Verses 12-19)
“12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt." 16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.”
1. We can’t always remain private in our worship.
-They all came out physically to express their love and adoration to God. There’s a time to remain private, but there’s also a time to come out in public and express praise and adoration to God. (That’s why you need to come to church.)
2. We should be actively involved in the worship experience.
Illustration: Sharri Coates was reminded that help comes in a wide variety of formats when she was on a cruise. It was the last night of the cruise and they were headed back to their room to pack when they nearly tripped over a man sitting on the floor in the hallway. Her husband asked if the man was all right and he replied, "Yes, I’m just helping." Upon seeing their puzzled faces, he explained, "My wife is in there packing, and I’m staying out of the way."
Reader’s Digest, March 2006, p.127
-The crowds weren’t passive. They were active. They were expressive, they were demonstrative. They were signing Hosanna. They were into it. They weren’t passively standing along the side, watching Jesus like you watch a parade. They were participating in it. Most of us feel good about ourselves if we manage to utter an “amen” during the preacher’s sermon, amen?
3. It is good to audibly declare our allegiance to Christ in worship.
-Now, let’s talk just for a second about this personal relationship with God. I use that term a lot to describe what it means to be a Christian. But I don’t want you to ever think that the term “personal relationship” means “private relationship.” You see, more and more in our society, there’s this tendency to say, “Well, a person’s faith is a private matter. Keep all your beliefs about God and life to yourself.” But the crowds didn’t care what anyone else said. They were there to declare their allegiance to Jesus. Now, that might make you a little uncomfortable. You might think, “Well, I don’t want to let other people know what I believe. It really IS a private matter.” If that’s you, I want to encourage you to take some time this week to head over to Matthew chapter 10 and just dwell there for the week. Meditate on the part where Jesus says that if we deny Him before others, He will deny us before His Father in Heaven. Jesus says there’s a definite relationship between confessing God among other people and Jesus confessing us to His Father. What He is basically saying is “You can love me and serve me and know me personally, but you can’t keep it private.” You can’t be a secret service Christian.
-When asked about their faith, only 3% of Americans mentioned enjoyment of their relationship with God as their greatest source of spiritual fulfillment. Worship, both corporately and privately, is many things - and enjoyment of God needs to be a vital part of that experience.
Today’s Christian Woman, November/December 2008, p.35
-Some of us just want to be sneaky little Christians. We want to sneak into church, sit down, shut up, grab a little inspiration, and sneak out. We don’t want to go public with it. We don’t want to stretch our faith and serve in any ministries. We don’t want to get uncomfortable so we never take part in any of our church’s group ministries. We sneak in on Sunday morning and sneak out. And that’s got to stop. The crowds teach us that we’ve got to take our personal relationship public.
-There’s one more group in this passage that teaches us about worship, and if you were reading this passage in your Bible and blinked, you’d miss them, but they are so important because of what they have to teach us.
What the Greeks Teach us About Worship (Verses 20-22)
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus."
1. We must be willing to seek Jesus.
-And that’s really the heart of worship, isn’t it? Just seeking Jesus. Wherever you are in your walk with God, you’d do well to seek Jesus more.
2. We must be teachable.
-They were willing to ask questions. They were willing to learn. They were willing to grow. Too many times we think that we’ve got it all figured out. We’ve been walking this Christian walk for so long that we don’t even have to think about it anymore. If that’s where you are, you need to check yourself, because you’re no longer truly worshipping God. We can all grow. But we must be teachable.
3. We shouldn’t be ashamed in our search for God.
-They weren’t ashamed of who they were, where they came from, or the sin in their lives. They just wanted to know God. Do you?
True worship is a lifestyle of responding with all that we are to all that God is.
Conclusion/Invitation
-In closing today, just think about this. Over in Luke 7 there’s another story about a lady who can to worship Jesus. She also brought used expensive oil to anoint Him. And this time, it wasn’t Judas who got upset, it was Simon Peter. And Simon Peter came over alongside Jesus and said, “Lord, do you notice what she’s doing here?” And listen to what Jesus said to him. He turned to Simon and said, “Have you notice this woman? When I came into your home, you didn’t give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss. But from the time that I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You didn’t pour olive oil on my head, but she’s poured this expensive perfume on my feet.”
-Wow. Jesus basically said, “Simon, you may be a disciple of mine, but you don’t know the first thing about worship. This woman does.” You know what that says to me, in my life? It says to me that God notices when I don’t worship Him. And notices when I do. If my heart is not really worshipping Him in spirit and truth, He notices that.
-So I don’t know about you, but I want to worship Jesus like that woman. I want to give everything I have to Him. I wonder what He’s going to say about you and me, this morning. When we walk out of here in just a moment, I wonder if He’s going to say, “Wow. That Millville Avenue Church really worshipped me this morning. Or I wonder if He’ll says, “Wow. They really don’t get it. They just kind of backed off and said, ‘Let someone else doe the worship this morning. It’s not really my thing. I’m not much for expressing my love for God in worship.’”
-Listen, guys. Sometimes, we come serving like Mary. Sometimes, we come singing like the crowds. Sometimes, we come seeking like the Greeks. But we should always come with all of heart focusing on Him. That’s worship. And we can do those things anytime, anyplace. That’s when we worship. Amen?
-Let’s pray. “Father, we want to see Jesus. Help us to adopt a lifestyle of worship. We want to worship you 24/7 Jesus, because you are worthy of the best of our lives. The best we have to offer.”
